Famous People with Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is caused due to the uncontrolled growth of cells in the lung tissues. The causes of lung cancer include chewing tobacco, smoking, exposure to radon gas, and asbestos poisoning. Many famous people and celebrities have suffered from lung cancer and passed away or are still fighting the disease. Most of the renowned celebs have had lung cancer because of their chain-smoking habit.

Bob Marley was a well-known singer, musician, and songwriter from Jamaica. The reason behind his death all started with a toe injury at a soccer game in France in 1977. He thought that the injury was not so severe and ignored taking any treatment.

As time passed by, the injury worsened. The entire nail came off and doctors recommended an amputation. Even then Marley still refused and continued with his limp.

Later, Marley underwent a skin graft on the affected toe, which was considered to be a success. In 1980, he fainted while performing on stage in New York and the very next day he collapsed while jogging in Central Park.

It was a shock when the doctors had diagnosed melanoma (cancer of the skin) on his toe and was given only a month's time to live. The cancer had spread to his lungs and brain. His addiction to smoking was also a major cause of this condition. Eight months later, Bob Marley passed away at the age of 36 in May 1981.

Lance Armstrong is a professional road-racing cyclist from the U.S., well-known for his record-breaking performance in the Tour de France for seven consecutive years from 1999 to 2005. In October 1996, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer which had spread to his lungs, brain, and stomach.

Armstrong chose the 'VIP' treatment instead of 'BEP', a regular chemotherapeutic treatment. He avoided the BEP treatment as it had bleomycin that could have had a bad effect on his lungs.

The doctors gave him less than 50% chances of survival, which later dropped to 40%. He underwent treatment for a brain tumor that was successful and was declared 'free from cancer' in February 1997 after regular chemotherapy treatments.

Along with some of his friends, Lance Armstrong started a cancer foundation to create awareness about cancer. Their foundation arranged the 'Ride for the Roses' bicycle race around Austin, TX. Lance Armstrong is one of the famous lung cancer survivor stories.

Walt Disney was an American animator, screen writer, entrepreneur, voice actor, and director who was also famous for the creation of 'Mickey Mouse'. In the year 1966, he was to undergo a neck surgery for a polo injury that he had suffered earlier. Before the surgery, the doctors at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center took some X-rays to proceed with the operation. After referring to the X-ray reports, they discovered that Disney had a large tumor in his left lung.

Some days later, Disney decided to undergo a surgery, but the tumor had already spread to a larger extent due to which the doctors had to remove his entire left lung. Doctors had informed him that he only had six months or a year to live even though he was undergoing chemotherapy treatments. In November 1966, he collapsed on the floor and was taken to the hospital where he expired.

Yul Brynner was a well-accomplished actor from Russia, famous for playing the role of Ramesses in the film 'The Ten Commandments'. He was said to have contracted lung cancer due to excessive smoking. Just before his death, he left a message for people asking them to quit smoking. This message given in an interview on 'Good Morning America', was used as a public announcement by the American Cancer Society. Brynner passed away in October 1985.

Dana Reeve was an American singer, actress, and the wife of actor Christopher Reeve. She publicly announced that she was diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2005. She suffered from this disease even though she had never smoked in her entire life. Later, she informed that the tumor was shrinking as a result of the therapy. Unfortunately, in March 2006, Dana died at the age of 44 at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

These were some of the famous personalities who suffered from lung cancer. Lung cancer is fatal in most cases and care needs to be taken to stay away from the reasons that cause it.